Wayne Blackshear: Is He Really Getting Better?

With all the talk of Wayne’s improvement, I decided to use TVT to take a deep dive on his performance.

My primary focus was to see if his production is truly better, or is it just “more minutes, more stats”?

Below I chart Wayne’s last 8 games in groups of four. “Last 4” and “the 4 before”.

The Up/Down column is assessing if his per minute production in each category is up or down now compared to “the 4 before”.

Below that I type in some observations.

Observations

1. Minutes: UP. Wayne is now averaging 26.5 minutes in “the last 4”, opposed to 19.3 in “the 4 before”. Having Wayne on the court is a good thing. So, the questions remains is he better, or just getting more minutes?

2. Scoring: UP. He is scoring more, but not just by getting more minutes. His “per minute” effectiveness has jumped 39%. What is the cause? Who knows, in a season players certainly have hot and cold streaks, but I think its rhythm. He was used to being the man in Chicago, had the ball in his hands at all times. Staying on the court 27% longer I think is helping his game rhythm. He himself has said “seeing what the defense is doing defensively before I step on the court is helping me”. That was paraphrased.

3. Rebounding: DOWN. It’s worse, can you believe it? He has barely improved his per game rebounding averages with the 27% increase in time. He was rebounding more effectively per minute in “the 4 before”.

4. Steals/Assists/Blocks: EVEN. No change, he is averaging the exact same per minute, so “more minutes, more stats” here.

5. Wayne vs RPI: While it follows logic that his worse per minute scoring games in each block were against the better opponents – I do think it is worth pointing out that he played two RPI top 50 opponents in each block and his scoring per minute was better most recently. The top teams RPI in “last 4” (39.5avg ) not as high of a rating compared to the “4 before” (22 avg), but all were top 50. So, something else to factor – is the competition not as hard improving his play as well?

Well, is Wayne better?

More minute more stats for most categories, sans scoring. The scoring production took a large hop forward compared to his per minute averages this year. Something to watch. Is it the bird’s eye view of the defense before he steps on the court, a hot streak, or does he want his starting job back. His minutes are up, so who cares about starting – time will tell if the answer is door #1 or door #2.

@CrumsRevenge

Former D1 Player and Coach. Life long fan of the Cardinals. CR makes movies, takes photos, co-host of "The Crunch Zone" Podcast, and can be heard on ESPN680 Wednesday 7-8:30am. Follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Vine (CrumsRevenge).

TCZ Comments

Former D1 Player and Coach. Life long fan of the Cardinals. CR makes movies, takes photos, co-host of "The Crunch Zone" Podcast, and can be heard on ESPN680 Wednesday 7-8:30am. Follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Vine (CrumsRevenge).